The United States and Japan will step up their defence cooperation to deal with the threat from nuclear-armed North Korea as tensions in East Asia remain high, officials from the two allies said on Thursday.

The federal budget has included $63.5 million over five years to support microfinance and lending programs such as NILS (The No Interest Loan Scheme), which Mr Morrison says will help families doing it tough.

"We understand that it is financial distress that can lead to even worse social outcomes, family breakdowns and issues of family domestic violence," he told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.

"All of these things are interconnected.

"The government has a high priority on the issue of family domestic violence and this is just yet another way of addressing the many issues that go into this chronic and difficult problem."

According to advocate group Destroy the Joint, 43 women have been killed as a result of targeted violence in Australia this year.